5 smart materials, from inks that conduct electricity to acrylic that diffuses lights

“We may not yet have the flying car that science fiction promised us,” says Catarina Mota in today’s talk, given at TEDGlobal 2012. “But we can have walls that change color depending on temperature, keyboards that roll up, and windows that become opaque at the flick of a switch.”

[ted_talkteaser id=1692]As Mota demonstrates, smart materials will allow us to make some very cool things. But not a lot of information is currently out there about how these materials are made, how they work, and how they can be used. This is why Mota co-created OpenMaterials.org, a website for the sharing of experiments, information, tutorials and DIY projects involving smart materials.

“Innovation has always been fueled by tinkerers,” says Mota. “So many times, amateurs — not experts — have been the inventors and improvers of things like mountain bikes, personal computers, airplanes.”